Minutes
Western History Association
Annual Business Meeting

13 October 2000

The Western History Association business meeting was called to order by President Patricia Nelson Limerick. The minutes of the 1999 Western History Association business meeting held in Portland, Oregon, were approved.	1
Paul Andrew Hutton, executive director, made his report. Hutton thanked his staff (Chris Harrison, executive assistant, and Janine Dorsey, graduate student assistant) for their hard work during the last year in putting the conference together. He also thanked graduate students Adam Kane, Lincoln Bramwell, and Jeff Pearson, who provided invaluable assistance as well. Hutton reported that nearly 900 people have registered for this year's conference. This is an increase of 100 over the last two conferences. Next year's conference will be held at the Town and Country Resort in San Diego, California, 4–7 October (Thursday to Sunday). The 2002 conference will be held in Colorado Springs.	2
Regarding finances, Hutton reported that the current balance in the investment account is $266,753. The checking and savings balances stand at $76,000 and $10,000 respectively. San Antonio conference expenses will be paid out of those accounts. In the previous fiscal year, we had a loss of some $21,000 because of past bills. In the fiscal year we just finished, we recorded a $73,000 surplus.	3
The WHA Council has voted to put the Western Historical Quarterly online for the next three years at a cost of $2,000 per year. Charles Rankin has left Montana the Magazine of Western History and has gone to the University of Oklahoma Press. The council voted for a resolution of thanks to Rankin for his labors on Montana the Magazine of Western History over the last ten years. The council voted to establish an award in honor of Michael P. Malone. This will be an award for the best article on state history, in keeping with Malone's long work in regional history. The council also voted to create a Heritage Committee to make sure that, as we establish goals for the future, we do not forget our original purpose.	4
The WHA conducted a training symposium for the National Park Service in San Antonio just prior to the 2000 conference. A cooperative agreement with the National Park Service to the provide this training will yield $2,500 for the WHA Endowment Fund. Additional NPS/WHA meetings will be held in 2001 at Fort Laramie and next October in San Diego prior to the WHA conference. The council has established an electronics committee, chaired by Paula Petrik and Elliott West. This committee has come up with a variety of ways to enhance the WHA web page and to move us more completely into the computer revolution. This concluded Hutton's report.	5
The Nominating Committee report was given by Hal Rothman. Newly elected WHA Council members are Robert L. Spude and Elizabeth Jameson. New members of the Nominating Committee are Bruce J. Dinges, Ann Regan, and Quintard Taylor.	6
Thomas Alexander gave the Membership Committee report: the WHA has a membership of 1,703, an increase of 23 members over last year.	7
The Financial Advisory Committee Report was given by Gordon Bakken. This committee advises the council on investment strategy and has recommended an asset allocation model for the association. Bakken reported that the WHA's daily financial activities are in order.	. . .